This course is primarily focused on the external audit of corporate financial statements while also covering other assurance services, professional ethics, and legal liabilities. The lectures presented are structured to correspond with auditing process in theory and practice, and inevitably integrate Australian and International Auditing Standards.
The majority of the lectures deal with the various activities undertaken by external auditors. The main stages of the audit process are addressed including risk analysis in auditing, audit planning and documentation, fraud auditing, gathering and evaluating audit evidence (including performance of tests of controls and substantive audit procedures) and the formation of the audit opinion. Other topics, including auditors' legal responsibilities, audit quality and ethics, and other assurance services, are also dealt with as special topics.
The lectures mainly deal with the concepts underlying the methodology, while the cases and discussion questions are used to demonstrate how the methodology is applied in practical situations. Research papers assist students with better understanding otherwise abstract auditing concepts and motivate students to further study the specific areas they may be more interested in.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of the requirements for this course, students will be able to:
1. discuss the need for an independent audit and assurance function, and briefly describe the development of the role of the external and internal assurance provider in modern business society;
2. explain the regulatory environment in which the auditor operates (including relevant sections of the Corporations Act 2001 and the auditing standards issued by the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) as well as the ethical pronouncements issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB), and apply those rules, standards and pronouncements to the conduct of a financial report audit and other assurance engagements;
3. describe the quality control procedures necessary to ensure that a competent assurance engagement is performed, and apply professional ethics including Code of Conduct to specific scenarios;
4. understand the financial report audit process, beginning with accepting clients, followed by understanding the client, evaluating business risk and assessing inherent risk, performing tests of controls to assess control risk and substantive tests to reduce detection risk, considering subsequent events and evaluating evidence gathered, ending in the formation of an audit opinion and communication of the results to the client;
5. describe the various levels of persuasiveness of different types of audit evidence and explain the broad principles of audit sampling techniques;
6. for major transaction types and account balances, identify appropriate assertions at risk and apply appropriate audit procedures to test the assertions identified;
7. determine the appropriateness, in different circumstances, of different types of audit and review reports;
8. understand auditors’ legal liabilities, and be able to apply case law in making a judgement whether auditors might be liable to certain parties;
9. describe other assurance and non-assurance services provided by the auditing and assurance profession, and, for assurance services, understand the level of assurance provided;
10. develop students’ cognitive skills (especially analytical, appreciative, and communication skills) and behavioural skills (especially personal and interpersonal skills).
Other Information
See the course outline on the College courses page. Outlines are uploaded as they become available.
Indicative Assessment
Typical assessment may include, but not restricted to, class participation, assignment(s), quizzes and examination(s).The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Students taking this course are expected to commit at least 10 hours a week to completing the work. This will include 3 hours per week in class and at least 7 hours a week on average (including non-teaching weeks) on course reading, research, writing and assignment work.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Assumed Knowledge
Students are expected to have retained familiarity with the concepts studied in previous accounting, introductory commercial law (or equivalent), information systems and introductory statistics courses.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $4080 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $5400 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2706 | 19 Feb 2018 | 27 Feb 2018 | 31 Mar 2018 | 25 May 2018 | In Person | N/A |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7682 | 23 Jul 2018 | 30 Jul 2018 | 31 Aug 2018 | 26 Oct 2018 | In Person | N/A |
